


Competing for Second Place

by theonlymaraudette



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, M/M, Polygamy, jily, just my babies being together until everything went to shit, prongsfoot - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-07
Updated: 2021-01-07
Packaged: 2021-03-17 22:55:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,928
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28607871
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theonlymaraudette/pseuds/theonlymaraudette
Summary: We were always led to believe that James and Lily were always meant to be. However, with a war outside and war between Sirius and Lily themselves for a certain prankster’s heart, they will soon realize that both of them were competing for second place all along.
Relationships: James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, Sirius Black/James Potter, Sirius Black/James Potter/Lily Evans Potter
Comments: 7
Kudos: 31





	Competing for Second Place

Lily Evans was really bloody mad, and it was all James Potter’s fault.

That arrogant imbecile had pranked Severus yet again, this one resulting in two idiots laughing like there was no tomorrow and one particular Slytherin in the Hospital Wing with tentacles sprouting out of his head.

 _Why_ , Lily wondered while she power walked towards the Gryffindor Common Room, _why does Potter have to make Severus’ life impossible?_ That trash he had said, ‘it’s more the fact that he exists’ made absolutely no sense. Yes, Snape had called her the m-word, but she still held enough affection for him to, at least, try to stop the Marauders from pranking him too much. If she hadn’t held affection, it wouldn’t hurt so much still every time she recalled that event.

Angrily, Lily muttered the password to the Fat Lady and walked inside the portrait. There he was, her victim. He was standing with his back turned towards her and laughing with his accomplice, cold and haughty Sirius Black, along with the other two Marauders. Lily would bet all her money, plus a chocolate frog, that they were laughing at Snape.

“Potter!” Lily yelled. The messy haired boy instantly stopped laughing, turning towards her with a charming smile while his hand automatically went to the back of his head to muss his hair even more. “Who do you think you are to mess with Snape like that?!”

James’ grin instantly wiped out, replaced by an annoyed look. Sirius, meanwhile, watched them both with a mixture of mirth and boredom, since Lily yelling at James for whatever reason she could find was almost a daily occurrence in the Gryffindor house. That is, when she wasn’t too busy avoiding him like he had the plague.

“He started it!” James protested, making Lily raise her eyebrow at him with incredulity. “It’s the truth, Sirius can tell you!” The afore-mentioned Black, who already had stopped paying attention and was flirting with a girl, looked at Lily and shrugged.

“James is right. We were just marauding around, minding our own business, and next thing I know I’m hanging upside down.” Sirius explained with James nodding emphatically. Lily thought he looked like one of those bobbing head toys his father put in their muggle car or an overtly enthusiastic puppy, and… it was a bit… cute. She had to snap herself to attention.

“Well, you could have… you shouldn’t have attacked back! You could have told a teacher.” Lily sputtered, her words making Sirius look at her like she was daft.

“Now that’s a good joke. You know us better than that, Evans.” He said, before turning his back to the warring pair, silently telling them to keep him out of today’s screaming match.

James’ hazel eyes were alight with anger, making Lily gulp inwardly.

“How come it’s always poor Snivellus the innocent and we’re always the bad guys?” He asked her. Lily would never admit it out loud, but when James got really mad he scared her a bit, because she could see how he would be if he had chosen to behave the way most purebloods did. He turned very cold, almost cruel, like when Sirius got mad and let his Black blood show through (except Sirius, unlike James, liked to cross lines, and _that_ made him vicious). Luckily, both of them reserved that kind of anger for Slytherins and blood purists like Sirius’ family or Death Eaters.

“Are you seriously that naïve, Evans? Do you really think he’s a fucking angel?” James continued, taking slow steps towards Lily until they were face to face and now he had to whisper. “I know you know what he did to Mary MacDonald. You want a reminder? Because I’m sure that Death Eater aspiring, muggle-hating walking trash would be happy to tell you how he and his snake friends put her under the Cruciatus and then Obliviated her, and how they would do it again if they had the chance.”

“Don’t call him that!” Lily cried out, making all the people in the Common Room turn their heads towards them, or at least the ones who weren’t already staring. “He wouldn’t join them… He’s not a Death Eater! And his name is Severus Snape!”

“Merlin, Lily,” James laughed sardonically. “You’re top of our class, you’re supposed to be smarter than that. I guess I was wrong.” With that said, he began walking to the stairs that went up to the boys dorms, the other Marauders following him because James always got in a foul mood whenever he and Lily fought, and they figured he would need some cheering up.

However, Lily, smarting from both the insults to her former best friend and her intelligence, couldn’t just let him walk away like that.

“And how would you know what he did to Mary, Potter? Did you help him?” Lily sent an evil smirk his way. Logically, she knew James would never even consider the idea of joining the Death Eaters, but that’s what made it a good jabbing point, since he hated the mention of him ever being one of those ‘filthy animals’.

Remus and Sirius tensed up, wincing a bit because Lily had just nailed her own coffin. Metaphorically, of course.

“I would never, ever be like Snivellus. The mere thought is horrible.” James replied with a cruel gleam in his eyes. “From starts, I actually wash my hair.” The whole of the common room laughed at his remarks; everyone who attended Hogwarts could check that James was right, Snape’s characteristic traits were his bat-like walk and the sheen of grease in his hair.

“C’mon, mate,” Sirius finally stepped up, walking to James’ side. “Let’s go upstairs, this isn’t worth it.” He said in a soft voice, placing his hand in his friend’s chest in case he went and did something stupid. He wasn’t very fond of Evans but he wouldn’t let James hex her, knowing he would wrack himself with guilt immediately afterwards. Besides, hexing Lily wasn’t worth a detention.

Lily raised her eyebrow at the intimate contact between the two boys, asking herself, not for the first time, if their relationship went beyond the platonic. Everybody knew they were like peas in a pod, always together, and Sirius had a reputation of sleeping around. Sure, it was with girls, but Lily thought Sirius would shag anyone who was attractive and with reproductive organs. The thought of James and Sirius, together in one bed, writhing, moaning, sweating, _fucking_ , made a sudden flame of jealousy course through her.

“Yeah, James, go on with your boyfriend…” Lily muttered, rolling her eyes with a huff and walking towards the girl’s dorms herself, missing the knowing look that James and Sirius shared, secret and hidden to those that weren’t looking for it.

.

.

.

Around a month later, Lily had seen certain clues of love in the behaviour of the two most infamous Marauders. Looks that seemed to last longer than necessary, that screamed ‘we know something that you all don’t’. Subtle touches, like the brush of a finger against a wrist while passing a quill, a cheek pressed to another while one of the two leaned forward from behind, lips against the shell of an ear while they whispered between themselves, no doubt planning their next big prank.

But, to Lily’s chagrin, she had also begun to feel… something for James, even if it costed her to admit it. Lily realized that he actually was funny, when he wasn’t actively trying too hard or making fun of people. That James was ace at Transfiguration, even better than Remus or herself (modesty aside), and he was really smart at their other subjects. That he seemed made to be sitting on a broom, swooshing through the air with a grace he often lacked while on land. That James was wholeheartedly _good_.

Unfortunately for Lily, someone else had already realized those things way earlier, and had arrived first.

.

.

.

The time Lily confirmed her suspicions about James and Sirius, the day began like any other. It was breakfast time, and the owls were arriving with the mail. She was sitting with her dorm mates, and a bit further down the table were the Marauders, being their usual rowdy selves. Then, an own as black as ink swooped down in front of Sirius, knocking down Peter’s cup of juice in the process, making him cry out in despair.

Sirius pulled a face at the owl, because it was the Black family owl and his family never had something nice to say to him, and viceversa. It also confused him, because they mostly preferred to tell him things through Regulus, and since he had ran away from Grimmauld Place, they had nothing to say at all. Pale, graceful fingers took the letter and opened it carefully, afraid of it containing who knows what kind of dark magic. _Wouldn’t put it past them_ , Sirius thought with a sardonic smile, that left his face when he began reading the letter, replaced by a frown.

James turned to look at his best friend with a frown, picking the letter and reading it, his face taking a similar, somber look. Lily did wonder what kind of letter it had to be for the both of them to be so serious… no pun intended. James just burned the letter with a flick of his wand and leaned in to whisper something in Sirius’ ear that made the latter crack a smile, both of them standing up and hastily saying their goodbyes to Remus and Peter before leaving the Great Hall, with the whole of school turning to look at them with curiosity.

The red-haired girl chose to follow them and walked out a few moments after them, listening to the sounds of their steps against the stone floor, silently tracking them, until they reached one of the loneliest, most hidden corridors of the castle. There, James immediately joined his mouth with Sirius’ in a searing kiss, the latter answering with equal passion and tangling his fingers in messy black hair, making it even more unkempt.

Lily, hiding behind a knight armor, froze on the spot. Then, she turned around silently and walked away, wondering why she felt a knot in her throat.

Next morning, it was a widely known fact that Sirius Black had been disowned.

.

.

.

It kept happening. Sometimes it happened in empty hallways, other times it happened in broom closets, and others in unused classrooms. Once, Lily even saw them snogging like there was no tomorrow in the empty Common Room, when she walked down because she couldn’t sleep. It was funny, Lily thought bitterly, before she just wanted Potter to leave her alone, and now that she had realized he wasn’t that bad, he only had eyes for his dear Padfoot and she couldn't stop noticing them.

Who would have guessed, James Potter and Sirius Black. Lily knew it would be too hard for wizarding society to accept their relationship, and in the middle of a war that was the last thing they needed. Furthermore, if she was honest with herself, Lily wanted James. She wanted to be the one to mess up his hair, to be the recipient end of his hugs and kisses, she wanted to be James’ and that James was hers. But that won’t happen, Lily mused with sadness before falling asleep.

.

.

.

James and Sirius were fighting. The fact itself was very rare, but the time they spent fighting made it all much more unbelievable. Apparently, something happened with Snape, Remus and a werewolf, but Lily was sure the last thing was a product of Hogwart’s typical rumor mill.

And boy, they were taking it bad. Sirius was paler than usual, his white skin that usually looked like porcelain now sickly looking. He had dark circles under his eyes, he seemed tired, and his infamous Black temper was simmering under the surface just waiting for someone to say the wrong thing.

James, for his part, wasn’t faring much better. He was downright vicious playing Quidditch, and when he wasn’t on the field he seemed near tears. Lily took advantage of the distance between the two boys to get closer to James, slowly but surely making him look at her the way he looked at Sirius, while the latter only got sadder and quieter.

“Get away from him, Evans.”

Lily was walking alone in the hallway that led to the Transfiguration classroom when she heard a voice behind her, making her turn and see Sirius, leaning against a wall and looking shaggier than ever.

“Excuse me?”

“You are excused.” Sirius replied, pushing himself up from the wall and staring down at Lily, his eyes cold like iron. “You heard me well. Get away from James.”

“And just why should I do that?” Lily asked back at him, raising her eyebrow in the same manner. She wouldn’t let Sirius Black intimidate her, he was just another arrogant tosser in a school full of them. However, if worst came to worst and Sirius took out his wand, she wasn’t sure how she would fare. Sirius was a wicked duelist, she had seen him and James in Charms and Defense Against the Dark Arts, and she was sure that both of them toned it down because it wasn’t a real battler. After all, the two of them were rich purebloods, and that meant dueling lessons since they learned how to hold a wand.

Sirius walked towards Lily until there were only inches between them, and Lily couldn’t help but admit that she could see what James, and the entire Hogwarts female population, saw in him. Even scraggly and sleep deprived, Sirius had a grace and elegant unique to him, that showed in his aristocratic features and the haughty look in his eyes.

“He is mine.” He whispered, his voice just as threatening as if he were snarling. “Ever since we met in that train compartment, while you were gallivanting around with Snivellus. Sure, he asked you out again and again on dates, but did you think he would never get tired? I was the one who comforted him, I was there for him, I kissed him and held him even while knowing that the first few times he wished it was you instead of me.”

“But somehow, I managed to gain his heart and kick you out and everything you meant; despair, sadness, anger. He _loved_ me. I won’t let you take that away from me, Evans, not when James is the only love I’ve ever known and I’ve worked so hard to get it.” Sirius finished his little speech with an imperturbable mask, hiding all of his emotions.

“I think you did a pretty good job of pushing him away yourself, Sirius. I won’t let him go, either.” Lily answered, green eyes narrowing down on grey ones.

Sirius’ eyes flashed with anger for a moment, just a second, before he put on the mask again.

“Very well,” Sirius nodded, turning around and walking away with his hands in his pockets despite the fact that he should be going to Transfiguration too. “But I won’t go without a fight, Evans.”

For the first time, Lily wondered if she should leave them alone.

.

.

.

Christmas was approaching and James and Sirius weren’t still speaking to each other. Sirius was MIA, no one saw him in classes or at meals, although his homework was always delivered on time with Remus and he still had brilliant grades.

However, she and James were getting every closer. He had asked her out to go to Hogsmeade together and she said yes, making him look at her in shock before breaking out in a huge smile that couldn’t erase at all the sadness in his hazel eyes. That made Lily think of cold iron.

The morning of the Hogsmeade trip, Sirius finally walked out of his hermit life. Apparently he had taken his alone time to beautify himself again, because his skin was back to his normal porcelain shade, there were no dark circles and his hair was shinier than ever, falling in effortless waves to his chin. Lily and James were sitting on a sofa in the Gryffindor Common Room when they heard someone coming down the boys dorm, making their heads look up from their assignments and watch him. Sirius walked right past them without sparing James a glance, but the latter followed the former with a certain longing in his eyes until the Black boy walked out of the Gryffindor Common Room. _If that’s Sirius’ great plan, this is going to be easier than I thought_.

“Moony, please!” Sirius begged, bothering Remus in the library and ignoring Madam Pince's annoyed stares.

“No, Sirius. Ask Peter.”

Sirius huffed. “You know I won’t do that, Peter is as dull as watching paint dry, Merlin bless him. Please?”

“Then ask James!” Remus exclaimed in a whisper, regretting his words as soon as he saw pain erupt in Sirius’ eyes. Remus had already forgiven his canine friend for his near sight concerning Snape and Remus’, er, fluffy little problem, but James still held onto his anger.

“He’s going with Evans. Come on, Remus, it’s been ages since the last time we went to Hogsmeade. Please?” Sirius pleaded, his eyes turning big and shiny, like a puppy under the rain. Those were Padfoot’s eyes, and he always used them when he wanted something.

“… Oh, fine. But I swear, if I have to study even more of these bloody Goblin rebellions because of you, I’ll dye your hair pink.” Remus threatened, returning his gaze to his parchment, which lasted a grand total of three seconds before a flick of Sirius’ wand made all of Remus’ things cram themselves in his bag, making Remus himself close his eyes, give out a sigh and send a prayer up above for patience.

“Yeah, sure, whatever you say, Moony. Go on, get your coat, I’ll see you at the gates in fifteen minutes.”

.

.

.

Lily was sitting inside The Three Broomsticks, sharing a booth with James and drinking a butterbeer while he told her one of the Marauder’s many pranks.

“… And then Sirius goes and runs straight through a wall. And I’m supposed to be the blind one! Though we were running away from Filch, so we didn’t plan our escape route all that well.” James laughed, shaking his head.

“You do know it’s terrible manners to talk shit behind other’s backs, right, Prongs?” Sirius said, announcing his and Remus’ arrival and sitting down with a swift movement next to James, who was looking at him with very wide eyes, while Remus sat down next to Lily, looking, for all intents and purposes, like a parent very fed up with his children.

“I’m sure there are worse things thrown around about you, Padfoot.” James answered with a smile slowly growing in his face.

Suddenly, their date turned into a group outing, but Lily wasn’t very bothered since she liked Remus and Sirius was okay when he wasn’t being an arrogant jerk. Overall, Lily would have said that their outing had been good, but… well, she had been distracted, talking to Remus about McGonagall’s latest assignment on Animagi and human to animal transfiguration, and the last time she had seen James and Sirius they seemed oddly smug about something. But then, around ten minutes later, she took a breath and looked at them again and they seemed in a bubble of their own, holding each other’s eyes while they murmured to each other. Suddenly James’ face blushed furiously, and Lily couldn’t figure out why until she saw that one of Sirius’ hand was beneath the table. _Oh_.

Lily averted her eyes and pretended she hadn’t seen anything, but she couldn’t have been more relieved when Sirius announced that he was going to say hello to the barkeep, Rosmerta, and left the table.

That same day, very late at night (or very early in the morning, depending how one saw it), Lily walked down to the Common Room in search of some warmth. With winter, the air was getting colder and colder, and Hogwarts was a drafty place with stone walls that made everything seem chillier still. But what she saw made her prefer that she had stayed upstairs.

James and Sirius. They weren’t snogging or anything beyond that. They were snuggling, with a blanket over them, holding each other and whispering between them with so much fervor Sirius’ eyes were shining and James’ cheeks had a slight pink tint to them. Seeing them like that, in such an intimate, loving moment was almost worse than if she had caught them naked and about to fuck. Lily walked upstairs, with two thoughts in her head. First, she didn’t need the warmth so much. And second, Sirius could consider himself winner.

But then, the next morning, something strange happened.

Lily was having breakfast, putting some butter on toast, when James slid next to her and kissed her cheek in a quick movement that caught her by surprise. To say that Lily was shocked was an understatement. What about Sirius? Was she just a rebound? Was Sirius the rebound? Were they taking turns with James’ heart and body? Did James even know what he was doing?

“Look, Lils,” James began, his face in an awkward grimace and his hand scratching the back of his head. “I really like you. A lot. You know that, since I’ve been asking you out since I figured out girls weren’t disgusting, back in second year.” They both chuckled at that.

“But I know you know about me and Sirius. And… I like him too. And I’ve talked to him and he’s okay with me dating you. Are you okay with the contrary?”

What was James asking her? To date him and Sirius at the same time? She didn’t like Sirius like that, and she was sure the feeling was mutual. Or was he asking to date both of them at the same time? _Well, this is better than not being with him at all_.

.

.

.

“Marry me.”

Lily couldn’t process it. James was on his knees, with a gold ring, at their graduation, asking her to marry him. And Sirius was okay with it! He seemed calm, he was smiling, and he sent an encouraging nod in the red head’s direction. And so, she answered, with tears brimming in her eyes and a smile nearly splitting her face in half.

“I would love to.”

.

.

.

It was December 1979, and Lily announced the words that would change all their lives forever. “I’m pregnant.”

James smiled and picked her up, spinning her around with glee. Soon, Sirius, Remus and Peter joined their hug.

Things were actually flowing for her, James and Sirius. Lily knew that most of the boy’s nights ended with James staying over at Sirius’ flat, and she was no longer surprised the days she woke up to find Sirius sitting in their kitchen table, eating breakfast while he waited for her and James to wake up. The thing was, a few months after James’ strange proposal, she came to terms to the fact that yes, James loved her, but he also loved Sirius and they couldn’t replace each other.

Eventually Sirius and Lily became close friends, laughing at James’ expense, and Lily couldn’t deny that her heart felt a certain way when Sirius talked to the growing baby in her belly, or Padfoot came barreling into the house and licked her face.

So yes, they were fine. Everything was fine.


End file.
